The history of the board game Monopoly is a story of a teaching tool that became a global symbol of wealth accumulation. The game originated as The Landlord's Game, created by Elizabeth Magie in the early 1900s to illustrate the economic pitfalls of monopolies and land ownership.
.. though ..
Decades later, an unemployed salesman named Charles Darrow modified the game, sold it to Parker Brothers as his own invention and became a millionaire, while Magie received only $500 for her patent rights and was largely forgotten for decades.
Charles Darrow claimed the idea as his own, stating that he invented the game in his basement!
Magie's game was becoming increasingly popular around the Northeastern United States including college students who attended Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania. Three decades after The Landlord's Game was invented in 1904, Parker Brothers published a modified version known as Monopoly. Magie later spoke out against them and reported that she had made $500 for her invention and received none of the credit for Monopoly!
In January 1936, an interview with Magie appeared in a Washington, D.C. newspaper in which she was critical of Parker Brothers. Magie spoke to reporters about the similarities between Monopoly and The Landlord's Game. The article published spoke to the fact that Magie spent more money making her game than she received in earnings, especially with the lack of credit she received after Monopoly was created. After the interviews, Parker Brothers agreed to publish two more of her games, but continued to give Darrow the credit for inventing the game itself.
In the end, Elizabeth Magie has posthumously received credit for one of the most popular board games in history.
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